NORTH CHARLESTON - After sitting vacant for decades with the threat of being demolished, the building that once housed a beloved diner in Liberty Hill is now on the market for more than $700,000.
Al's Diner on East Montague Avenue was once a staple of the Liberty Hill community. A gathering place for neighbors, the family-owned restaurant that opened in the 1950s was known for serving fried chicken and shrimp dinners with its famous lima beans. Since the restaurant shuttered nearly four decades ago, no other tenant has moved into the two-story brick building, according to neighborhood leaders.
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The Charity Foundation, a nonprofit arm of Charity Missionary Baptist Church in Liberty Hill, currently owns the property. The Charity Foundation focuses on four initiatives to improve the Liberty Hill community: STEM education for students, financial literacy, workforce development and attainable housing.
In March 2022, the foundation purchased the lot with the vacant building for $94,000, according to county records.
The property is now on the market for $711,000.
The Rev. Nelson Rivers III, pastor of Charity Missionary Baptist Church and board chair of the foundation, said the funds from the sale of the property will go toward the foundation's next affordable housing plan on Varner Lane to build housing for seniors. The city donated this land to the foundation in October 2021 and Rivers said funds still need to be secured for the project.
"We're focusing now even more on attainable housing," Rivers said. "We can't do that without raising the resources, so selling the property is the primary way to do it."
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Leaders of the Liberty Hill Improvement Council envisioned the former diner to be repurposed into a visitors center that would highlight the historic Black community that dates back to the post-Civil War era. The neighborhood group even had digital renderings created of the proposed idea.
Rivers liked the idea of opening a welcome center in Liberty Hill. He said he brought the idea to the International African American Museum in downtown Charleston to propose a partnership between the city of North Charleston and the museum.
"We never got past talking about the vision," Rivers said.
Recently, Mayor Reggie Burgess expressed interest in the city buying the property to assist neighborhood leaders with the welcome center plan. At the Liberty Hill neighborhood meeting in September, Burgess told residents the city would make an offer to the Charity Foundation.
However, the city forfeited the plan after an appraisal they initiated valued the property at $111,000, said city spokesman Tony Tassarotti.
"While we appreciate the building's importance, we must also uphold our commitment to North Charleston's taxpayers. As such, we are not willing to overpay the difference beyond the appraised value," the mayor's office wrote in a statement to The Post and Courier.
Rivers said the foundation would consider selling to the city if the offer matches or is close to the asking price.
Rivers said he plans to include a proviso in the property sale that would require the buyer to commit to keeping housing affordable, if they chose to use the property for that purpose. The other option would be a commercial space since the zoning allows for certain businesses to operate there.
The transition of historic Liberty Hill
Liberty Hill is one of the oldest neighborhoods in North Charleston, founded in 1871 as a settlement for freedmen. During its peak, Liberty Hill boasted nearly 60 businesses across 112 acres. After the Charleston Naval Base and Shipyard closed in the 1990s, many businesses left as residents moved away. Now, vacant lots and empty buildings sit where the businesses once were.
Liberty Hill's neighbor at the other side of East Montague Avenue, Park Circle, had a different evolution -- the growing area now features many locally owned restaurants and shops.
Today, Al's Diner sits with boarded up windows and marks for graffiti. The interior of the two-story brick building is gutted, with an unfinished ceiling and flooring, according to photos provided by the Liberty Hill Improvement Council.
In September 2022, the city deemed the property a danger to health and public safety, stating the building has holes in the roof and sections of the floor are deteriorating or missing.
Today, a red "condemned building" sign is posted on the building next to the new "for sale" sign. The property went on the market on Oct. 25.
For longtime Liberty Hill residents, memories of what Al's Diner was in its prime are all that remains. The family-run restaurant, owned by Paul and Albertha Allen, was a hub for the community to share a meal and drinks after sporting events, school parades and parties.
"It was a place to kick your heels up on the weekend," said Beverly Mack, who was born and raised in Liberty Hill.
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Mack remembers Al's Diner as a place for young adults in their 20s and 30s to gather. The jukebox and dance floor beckoned customers to dance the night away. And the diner's homestyle food was a main draw. Mack said Al's served the best shrimp dinner in North Charleston.
Gloria Holmes, who also grew up in Liberty Hill, remembers the chicken strip box with french fries. She said the "atmosphere was beautiful" in the sense that locals came to the diner to sit with friends, enjoy a meal and listen to music. Holmes would like to see the old diner turned into a welcome center or a locally owned store that serves the community.
However, now the future of the former Al's Diner remains uncertain.